By: Umaisar Gull Ganie
Srinagar, Jul 15: The annual Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra continued to witness an overwhelming response, with 22,599 pilgrims performing darshan at the holy cave shrine on Wednesday, taking the total number of devotees who have completed the pilgrimage to 3,24,525 in the first 13 days of the Yatra.
According to official figures, those who performed darshan on Wednesday included 16,156 men, 5,665 women, 346 children, 86 sadhus, 13 sadhvis, 10 transgender devotees and 323 security personnel.
A fresh batch of 6,251 pilgrims, including 50 foreign devotees, left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu early Wednesday under multi-layered security arrangements for the twin base camps of Baltal and Nunwan.
Officials said 2,985 pilgrims opted for the shorter Baltal route, while 3,266 proceeded towards the Nunwan base camp via the traditional Pahalgam route.
The convoy comprised 230 vehicles, including 137 buses, 34 medium motor vehicles (MMVs) and 59 light motor vehicles (LMVs).
The batch included 4,439 men, 1,614 women, 13 children, 78 sadhus, 53 sadhvis, one child sadhu, three transgender pilgrims and 50 foreign male devotees.
The Baltal-bound convoy departed at 2:42 am, while the Pahalgam-bound convoy left at 3:27 am under elaborate security arrangements.
The total number of pilgrims who have departed from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu since the commencement of departures on July 2 has reached 99,287, inching closer to the one-lakh mark.
Meanwhile, Director General (DG), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Praveer Ranjan, accompanied by senior officers, visited Jammu to review the security arrangements for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra Yatra-2026.
The visit included a comprehensive assessment of security measures, medical response mechanisms, fire safety preparedness, pilgrim facilities, logistics and inter-agency coordination to ensure the safety, security and convenience of devotees.
During the visit, the DG inspected the Bhagwati Nagar Base Camp, Joint Police Control Room (JPCR), CCTV Control Room and the Tawi River Front. He also interacted with deployed personnel and pilgrims, reviewed the security framework on the ground and stressed the need for maintaining operational readiness, continuous vigilance and seamless coordination among all stakeholder agencies.
The DG CISF chaired a high-level security review meeting with senior officers of the CAPFs, J&K Police, Intelligence Bureau, Indian Army and other stakeholder agencies. Commending the dedication, professionalism and seamless coordination among the security forces, he expressed confidence in their continued commitment towards ensuring the smooth, safe and incident-free conduct of the Amarnath Yatra-2026. (KNO)
